Avoid Scams

Because international visitors are new to U.S. culture, they are sometimes more vulnerable to internet scams. BEWARE. Here are some common scams. Internet crimes can be very sophisticated and the criminals can be very patient in building your trust before stealing from you! Even very savvy people can become victims.

SCAM: Phone call or email that says you owe taxes or fees to the I.R.S. or other government agency.

Any federal agency will contact you BY MAIL. If you receive a written notice and you are unsure if it is valid, you may bring it to OISS or to A.S. Legal for our opinion. DO NOT give confidential information such as your address or social security number to anyone that is claiming to be part of the I.R.S. These scammers can sound very threatening, but they have no authority. More about this scam.

SCAM! DHS OIG Hotline Telephone Number Has Been Used in Scam

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this fraud alert to warn citizens of reports that the DHS OIG Hotline telephone number has been used recently as part of a telephone spoofing scam targeting individuals throughout the country.

The perpetrators of the scam represent themselves as employees with “U.S. Immigration” and can alter caller ID systems to make it appear that the call is coming from the DHS OIG Hotline telephone number (1-800-323-8603). The scammers demand to obtain or verify personally identifiable information from their victims through various tactics, including by telling individuals that they are the victims of identity theft. Many of the scammers reportedly have pronounced accents.

DHS OIG takes this matter very seriously. While we investigate the situation, we would like to remind the public that DHS OIG never uses its Hotline number to make outgoing calls — the phone line is only used to receive information from the public. Individuals should not answer calls purporting to be from 1-800-323-8603, and should never provide personal information during calls purporting to be from the DHS OIG Hotline. It continues to be perfectly safe to use the DHS OIG Hotline to report fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement within DHS components or programs.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of this telephone spoofing scam is urged to call our Hotline or file a complaint online via the DHS OIG website www.oig.dhs.gov. You may also contact the Federal Trade Commission to file a complaint and/or report identity theft.

SCAM: A long-distance "friend" convinces you to send very, very private pictures of yourself. Then they threaten to post the pictures online to your friends or parents unless you pay them a fee.

Once private photos of you have been released to the Internet, there is little anyone can do to prevent them from being shared with others. This can become a very embarrassing situation. The best way to avoid this is do not send private pictures. Once someone has your photos, they may misuse them without respect for your privacy.

SCAM: Exchanging money is ALWAYS a scam!

Sometimes internet criminals will begin by slowly building your trust. For example, you may buy items and receive them without a problem. Once it seems you have a trusted relationship, you may be asked to transfer money for currency exchange. You might successfully transfer a small amount before the criminal has tricked you into sending a large amount. DO NOT PARTICIPATE IN INTERNET MONEY EXCHANGE! It is always eventually a trap.

Here are some other scams identified by Craigslist. These involve transactions such as renting an apartment or buying a used car, that may begin as online transactions.

1. Someone claims your transaction is guaranteed, that a buyer/seller is officially certified, OR that a third party of any kind will handle or provide protection for a payment:

These claims are fraudulent, as transactions are between users only.

The scammer will often send an official looking (but fake) email that appears to come from craigslist or another third party, offering a guarantee, certifying a seller, or pretending to handle payments.